[AD – Gifted] It’s been a few months since I’ve been able to post about my deliveries of my Secret Scent Boxes, May I had HORRENDOUS hayfever that stopped me in the tracks of sniffing and despite best intentions to catch up with blogging in June, life got busy – and it’s only been now that I’ve been able to stop and write these up. But it does mean that some of these fragrances have had a “good try” over the past few months.
Secret Scent Box for those who aren’t aware are a monthly delivery service for masculine and feminine fragrances – containing three vials of trial sized perfumes for you to try. Each box has a mix of price points, brands, new perfumes vs classics – there’s usually something for everyone and budget.
If like me you like learning about fragrances too, the letterbox friendly packages contain cards on each fragrance that detail some information about the perfume and the notes, which is very handy for me for checking for known allergies etc.
I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted this service for a few years now and I’ve loved the monthly refresh of my fragrance collection and it’s helped me discover some favourite fragrances I’d likely have never have picked up in a shop as the bottle wouldn’t have caught my eye. It’s a lovely treat or gift idea for a fragrance addict like me who loves perfumes, maybe struggles to find new things to try and has too many already!
May 2021
Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Night for Her
I’ve sampled an odd Abercrombie and Fitch fragrance here and there before and they’ve all felt pretty lacklustre, however, this one is quite up my street. A hearty and deep berry fragrance coupled with deeper florals – with top notes of Blackcurrant and apple which are complimented with Pink pepper, tuberose, jasmine and magnolia on a warm base of sandalwood, cedar and patchouli. One for the maybe in future list!
Davidoff Cool Water Mera
Davidoff Cool Water line is one that always pulls me in and has me intrigued, Cool Water is a fragrance I’ve long admired but never owned and this took me straight back to the first time I smelt that. I can’t tell specifically side by side what is different about this limited edition version, but it seems slightly more floral than the orignal with simple notes of mandarin, “flower petals”, magnolia and tuberose. Wear time is good and have smelt this on myself a good 8 hours after first applying, however is not one that’s going on my shopping list.
Michael Kors White Luminous Gold
MK make one of my favourite perfumes of all time, yet I don’t seem to like many others, this one is no exception and my instant reaction was “a bit like an old people’s home”. Musky and for me slightly stale-shoe smelling – I really wasn’t keen on this at all. The notes on this are listed as sparkling pear, jasmine and amber – all notes I normally like, but for some reason in this combination it just isn’t working for me!
June 2021
Guess 1981 Indigo
Summery and airy – reminding me of a day in Wales where cliffside meadows meet the coast – with distinct seaside vibes coupled with florals. Historically, I’ve not enjoyed guess fragrances, but this one has captured my interest and I’ve loved wearing it over the past few warm days. The top notes are an ambiguous “sea notes”, fig and lilac, with mid notes of iris, blue lotus and narcissus The base notes intrigued me of red wine, vetiver and pinot noir grapes – but I get what these unusual notes mean as it develops a warm heart to the fragrance underneath the airy florals and it compliments the other notes well. Okay wear time, for a softer floral fragrance – find it lasts about 6 hours on the skin before I can’t detect it any more – but it’s still been noticeable by others.
Cacahrel Amor Amor Love Festival
I love this when it’s first sprayed – a lovely mix of citrus blended with florals that feel very summery. A top note of grapefruit is listed alongside coca-cola and cassis, which I don’t particularly pick up on. But the Grapefruit alongside the heart notes of rose, jasmine and lily-of-the-valley are definitely noticeable. Unfortunately this seems to fade super quick on me and I can’t notice it upon myself after about an hour or so, it’s a shame – it’s a lovely scent but just doesn’t seem fit for my skin chemistry.
DKNY Be Tempted
This gives me similar vibes to the Abercrombie one from May’s box, initial top notes of blackcurrant bud, lemon and licqorice are met with floral notes of orange blossom, rose and violet. With a warm base note of vanilla, patchouli and myhrr. The fragrance is one that’s well balanced between warm, floral and fruit layers. I do find this initially is quite strong but softens to a more subtle note quickly. it’s not one i’d keep for a pow of a date night, but a nice warm every day fragrance.
July 2021
Lalique Satine
Possibly my favourite fragrance out of this eight, it reminds me of an old fragrance I used to have but I can’t pinpoint which I am thinking of. This one feels summery but with a bit of added spice which adds a little bit of a sexy/date-night vibe to it. With gourmand notes of tonka bean and vanilla coupled with pink pepper, warm base notes of sandalwood, patchouli and vetiver, whilst the top notes of Gardenia, Jasmine and Heliotrope add some fresh and floral notes. I’ve worn this a few times and been complimented on how I smell with it on. I was pleasantly surprised that it can be found online for £26 for 100ml bottle – it doesn’t have the best wear time but as an date night fragrance I’d be happy to purchase.
Calvin Klein Euphoria Blush
I feel like this was a breath of fresh air as it’s been a while since I smelt a good fruity fragrance and this one has sweet berry notes of Raspberry and Blackcurrant that instantly made me feel youthful. A fun fragrance with a good wear time and the berry top notes are complimented by florals at the mid and base. Decent wear time, and one that’s been added to my Boots list for potential purchase with loyalty points splurging in future.
Paco Rabanne Calandre
This took me by surprise as I know Paco Rabanne fragrances quite well and this feels like something very different for them. Instantly it appears to be very “one note” floral – that it’s safe to say if rose isn’t your thing then this perfume isn’t for you, it has a slight baby-powderiness to the fragrance, but also I detect the warmth of sandalwood in the base note revealing itself through it’s wear. I like this, I’d certainly use it if I had it – but it’s not one that I’ll be adding to my “one day” list, but if you like a floral with a twist this is worth checking out.
[Ad – Gifted] – Thank you to Secret Scent Box for sending me over these to try.
What have been your favourite fragrances lately? I’ve recently bought the Ouai perfumes in small travel sizes after falling in love with a sample of one of them and look forward to giving them through test, reviews on their way!
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